Challengers

• Designer: Johannes Krenner, Markus Slawitscheck
• Publisher: 1 more time Games, Z-Man Games
• Players: 1-8
• Age: 8+
• Time: 45 mins

“Challengers” is a game that breaks the mold. I was lucky enough to play a prototype at the ‘Gathering of Friends’ last April and it was the game I was most looking forward to seeing at Essen. For my taste it is quite simply: fun in a box.

Firstly let’s talk about value for money. In the days where publishers are charging 60 Euros for a game, Challengers contains not only an enormous number of cards but also 4 colourful player mats in neoprene and three holders for the 3 decks of cards – all for 40 Euros. Continue reading →

Planet B

• Designer: Johannes Natterer
• Publisher: Hans im Gluck
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30-45min/player

“At some point in the not-so-distant future, we humans had to look for a new place to live. Just when we thought we’d have to settle for Mars, we suddenly discovered a new planet, one we lovingly christened “Planet B”. It was a second chance for humanity, and of course we were determined to do everything right this time because as everyone knows, we humans learn very well from our mistakes… In Planet B, you slip into the role of corrupt governors. You make crooked deals with corporations to advance your own interests. You build your city, let the population work for you, rise in the favor of political factions, or control the news. Of course, all of this comes at a price — and by the time you’re vying for the presidency, you’ll want potential voters to be on your side. In the end, as always, only one thing counts: Who has managed to pocket the most government money?“

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World Splitters

• Designers: Tony Chen, Romain Caterdijan
• Publisher: EmperorS4
• Players: 2-5
• Age: 8+
• Time: 45-60 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher at SPIEL 2022

World Splitters is the second game from the Essen crop set in the same futuristic world.  The other game has already been reviewed – World Exchangers.  In this game: you, as one of the factions, are re-designing the administrative divisions of the New World with other competing factions. You will split and bid for the land while your goal is to obtain the highest influence in the enclosed regions. With that ambition in mind, are you able to intertwine multiple interests and make irresistible offers? You will place fences to divide the area into designated sizes for bonuses and auction the right to occupy the space besides.

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KuZOOkA

• Designer: Leo Colovini
• Publisher: Pegasus Spiele
• Players: 2-6
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30-45 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by Pegasus Spiele
• Amazon affiliate link – https://amzn.to/3VbCUqu

KuZOOkA was a high target of mine from SPIEL 2022 as it combined one of my favorite designers, Leo Colovini, with Pegasus Spiele – a company who has been giving me 2-3 hits per Essen cycle annually in recent years.  KuZOOkA has a clever humorous theme – 

It isn’t easy being a zoo animal. The enclosures are far too small for your needs, the daily routine is boring, and the visitors to the zoo are too obnoxious. For years, the visitors have been gawking at you and throwing all sorts of trash into your enclosures.  And now, due to an unfortunate incident, you are all going to be transferred to a smaller zoo in 8 days.  Now it’s totally clear: You need to break out of the zoo, ideally within the next seven days.  There are multiple ways to escape in KuZOOkA, but you need to work together with the other animals — in secret — to pool the trash left behind by zoo visitors and develop an escape plan that makes use of these items.  To make matters worse, you find it difficult to communicate with the other animals. The monkey screeches excitedly and the elephant trumpets loudly, but what are they trying to tell you?  What trash can they contribute to the escape plan? Which escape plan is the most promising? You must find a way to communicate. It’s high time to break out of the zoo!

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